Dakine Builders Pack Competition

And the winner is…Don Macleod.

It was an easy decision in the end as it was no decision at all. Rather than try to compare the different stories of trail awesomeness we copped out and used our favorite internet application, the random number generator at random.org.

Wellington-based Don is a bit of a legend in and around the suburb of Karori where Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park is located and anyone who rides there owes a massive debt of gratitude to the volunteer contributions that Don has made.

His efforts over the years are easily in the thousands of hours and he enjoys trail building so much that even if he’s put in time during the week as a paid contractor he’s back out there putting in many more volunteer hours in his own time.

Whether it is spraying, clearing, planting, building new track or fixing up the classics, the list of things that Don has done as a volunteer for Makara Peak and surrounding trails (like the legendary Deliverance) is never ending. Of course Don’s no spring chicken being the grey side of 50 but we figure by local standards he’s got at least another 30 years of trail building ahead of him.

Like many trail builders Don is not one to self promote, he has been the quiet get stuck in and get it done guy, always in the background working away and generally avoiding the limelight. Without Don’s many contributions Makara Peak would be a trail poorer place to ride. So thanks Don.

Now, we decided that it wouldn’t be enough to leave it there, the stories of largely unsung trail heroics from around the country were so good that we’ve decided to give them all a Trail Fund NZ t-shirt to say thanks for the work that they do.

We’ll get in touch with all the folks who nominated the individuals and sort out the details (sizes, addresses etc.) and we hope to also bring you their stories of unsung trail pixie work over the next few weeks and months. It’s awesome what these people do and it’s great to be able to say thanks!

Finally, thanks again to the team at Burkes Cycles for jumping in and being one of the first to support Trail Fund NZ including supplying the Dakine Builders Pack we’ve been able to give away. We’d love to get even more trail loving companies get involved with the project, let us know if you think you can help.